India vs Netherlands: Shuffle on the cards

It was unclear if it was Sachin Tendulkar's history with left-arm spinners or Yuvraj Singh's magic arm that wouldn't allow the ball to hit the middle of the bat. But for a change, Tendulkar loved every celebration of his 'dismissal', as much as his Team India mates, who watched an amused Yuvraj circling the spot, waving his hand animatedly to commemorate his prized victim.

Yuvraj certainly has given this team an opportunity to afford big smiles, be it while scoring goals in football practice and striking Usain Bolt's To di World pose, or on the cricket field by winning matches with both bat and ball. But it wasn't just Yuvraj's antics that had the Indians in a good mood a day before their clash against the Dutchmen.

With India having planted one big toe in the quarterfinals, the next opponent being a weak Netherlands, and the usual hype surrounding a Ferozeshah Kotla pitch missing, the team warmed up with more smiles than stress-related creases on Tuesday.

Ind vs Ned: Online ticket struggle

NEW DELHI: While for cricket enthusiasts around the world, watching the World Cup is a dream, spectators for the India-Netherlands match on Wednesday were bitter and aggrieved. For 26-year-old Vishal Patel, who had flown in from London with his parents Mukesh and Pallavi especially to watch four matches after booking tickets six months in advance, getting tickets from the online ticket collection counter was an arduous task on Tuesday.

"I had booked tickets for four matches in Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai and Nagpur. While tickets for the Chennai match, which is the last match of these four, were mailed to us while we were still in London, I had to mail the online ticketing agency repeatedly before getting any indication as to what would happen to the rest of our tickets. We were finally told just days before we left that the tickets would be available at the different venues. But when we reached Ferozeshah Kotla stadium on Tuesday, we were told that our tickets had been mailed to our London address on Monday. This is ridiculous."

The family then had to allegedly argue with the ticketing counter representative for a long time before he finally agreed to give them their tickets. "We have all our papers, passports and everything they had asked for in the confirmation email sent by the ticketing agency. However, the tickets were given to us only after much argument and we were made to pay an added "entertainment tax" even though there was no such mention in the confirmation of the tickets or the later correspondence we had with them. This is just a money-making scheme. When we picked up the tickets in Bangalore's ticketing counter, there was no such problem nor were we asked for any extra money," said an incensed Mukesh Patel.

The family had arrived in Bangalore on March 5. Vishal has a mehendi tattoo on his right forearm showing off his cricketing enthusiasm which his sister Kajal had drawn for him.

India vs Netherlands: Expect nothing but a one-sided match

It's Wednesday and India are playing. That surely can't be right. I was under the impression that divinely bestowed law dictated India play only at weekends in day/night matches, hence why English and South African fans had to endure a miserable 4am wake up call to watch their game on Sunday despite being perfectly situated, time zone wise, for the later day-nighter.

Oh, hang on. It's against the Netherlands. That would explain it. Yes, India complete their matches against the four easiest teams in the group today (was it also a cunning ruse by the organizers to give the home team a gentle start to the tournament?), and no one expects anything other than a one-sided match. For most people, the only possible interest will be derived from watching Tendulkar attempt to reach his 99th international ton, so expect the Indians to bat first if they win the toss.

In their last two matches, the Dutch have lost by a combined margin of 446 runs, which is 110 runs more than South Africa and England managed on Sunday between them. True, they ran England close in their opening fixture but making sense of any match involving England is like trying to discern an original thought from within the babbling, parroted banalities of a day's commentary delivered by Ravi Shastri and Danny Morrison.

Perhaps Ten Doeschate will go berserk again, but I fancy that he and Kevin O'Brien have each played their one and only great innings of the tournament. Which is not to say that the Netherlands will be a pushover. Their side contains considerable first class experience. They are no Kenya, or Canada. But if the pitch is a good one, there is every reason to expect a mammoth total from the hosts if they get first crack.

It may not come from Sehwag whose legendary boredom threshold will probably lower to subterranean levels at the enervating prospect of facing Berend Westdijk, Pieter Seelar and Rob Key lookalike Mudassar Bukhari. But Tendulkar, Gambhir and Kohli will surely fancy the job. I like Kohli, and not just because of his uniquely trendy but magnificently self-conscious sunglasses. Nor is it simply that he isn't Suresh Raina, though that is an undeniable point in his favour.

No, Kohli is the business in 50 over cricket and in him Pujara and Gambhir lies that fast approaching future that all Indians know is coming but of which they remain in steadfast denial; a kind of menopause for the nation of India. Yes. The Age Without Tendulkar (and Sehwag, Dravid and Laxman). Sorry readers, but sometimes tough love is the only way. Face it. Deal with it. And move on. Soon (as in roughly 15 months or so).

For now the phoney war is nearly complete. We're over half way through the group phase, and the favourites have only had one proper match, which they tied. Everything after today should be supercharged cricket with matches against West Indies and South Africa determining whether India get a favourable draw in the quarter finals or face up to the prospect of the rampant Australians or multi talented Sri Lankans at least one round earlier than intended. Today though we can only hope the Dutch survive the match with some semblance of spirit in tact because Dhoni, Yuvraj and co. are not known for taking prisoners. Not even if they're conscientious objectors.